I have eight children of which five are in primary school. The older ones have completed their secondary education and are waiting to join college. However, due to a lack of sufficient funds, I have asked them to wait while I prioritize their younger siblings' education. The support from GiveDirectly has been a great relief as I've been using the transfers to pay for my children's school fees. However, knowing that the transfers will eventually come to an end, I've decided to invest a portion of the money in buying goats. In the upcoming year and beyond, I intend to focus on this project as it will serve as my future financial security. The reason for keeping goats is to eventually acquire bulls, primarily for land cultivation. I plan to sell the goats once they multiply to a good number and use the proceeds to buy the cows of my dreams. If this plan becomes a reality, I intend to use the cows for tilling my land and offering tilling services to other farmers for a fee. This, in turn, will provide me with income to support my family and pay for my children's education more easily.

I have been considering starting a long-term project to replace the GiveDirectly transfer once they are no longer available. Life is quite challenging in our area, especially during the drought season. For instance, last season, we invested in farming but unfortunately didn't harvest anything in the long run. This means we end up using most of our income from farming instead of investing in more valuable projects. With eight children in my household, I need to consider their future, particularly their education. I don't want a situation where my children blame me in the future for not being able to send them to school, so I've been thinking about long-term financial security.Therefore, I have decided to invest in goat rearing. Goats adapt very well to our environment, are easy to manage, and multiply rapidly when well taken care of. Additionally, goats are very marketable, and there are ready buyers in case of a financial crisis. Therefore, with my most recent transfers, I used $85 to buy three goats, securing our future financial stability. With the remaining $17, I purchased food for family consumption.

I currently make a living by selling small fish known as Omena. However, I have aspirations to diversify my income by investing in goats. I currently have five goats and my ultimate goal is to exchange these goats for cows, after they multiply. With cows, I aim to acquire bulls to help till our land and a dairy cow from which I can milk and sell the produce. The earnings from these ventures will not only assist in paying my children's school fees but also support my husband, who is the primary breadwinner of our family.

In the midst of raising eight children, life presents its daily challenges. Alongside this, I tend to a small group of five goats, which symbolizes my commitment to our family's future. When my monthly transfer arrives, I make sure to invest in expanding our livestock. Recently, I used $25 from this transfer to purchase a goat. I am focusing on goats now, with the hope of trading them for cows down the line. Cows can serve various purposes, from helping with farm work to covering my childrens' school fees. With five children currently attending school, ensuring their education remains uninterrupted is vital. I prioritize paying school fees for four of my children. I split $6 between two of them, ensuring fairness, and allocate $3 to the education of the other two. Every decision I make is carefully considered, with the ultimate aim of securing a brighter future for my beloved family.

Through dedication and proper planning of the transfers,I have so far managed to acquire 6 which is still 3 less in order for me to be able to trade them for a cow as I need at least 9 goats to have a decent size bull. I will therefore continue channelling my transfers towards the purchase of the goats. Each month, I will be setting aside $30 of the transfers towards this project as this is the only way I can achieve it faster. Once we have the 2 bulls, we will be able to cultivate a much bigger portion of land, including the section that is currently unutilized which will in turn improve our food production and shield us from hunger. Farming costs will also be decreased as we will no longer have to hire tractors or bull-driven ploughs to cultivate our farm, instead, we will increase our income by hiring our services out to other farmers who may need ploughing services.

I have my eyes set on buying 2 bulls which will be crucial in improving our farming and general food production as we will be using them for ploughing services. When possible , we will also be offering ploughing services to other villagers at a fee, improving our household income in the process. As I am not in a position to raise the money to buy a bull which could be approximately between $270 to $300, I have adopted a plan to use the transfers to acquire goats that I will later on trade for the bulls. As goats are more affordable, I have been using the transfers received this past 4 months to purchase them. Each month, I have been setting aside approximately $32 for the purchase of a goat. The little amount left after the purchase of this crucial asset is what I have been spending on any household needs we may have. Having the bulls will help solve our farming crisis which has been impeded by expensive labour charges by tractors and bull driven plough owners which can cost as high as $24 per acre. When unable to raise the money to hire these services, we have sometimes been forced to cultivate only a small portion of our farm which in turn limit our food production failing to shield us from hunger despite us having a huge piece of land, some of which is unutilized.

In the coming year, I aim to increase my herd of goats and eventually exchange them for bulls. This will create a more stable and sustainable source of income for our family as I will be renting them out for ploughing. My desire is to see my children attending school without hindrances. After all this , We'll have secured our family's future.

My husband, who sells vegetables, has been the support for our household needs. For the longest time, we had limited options, and our daily routine mainly consisted of waiting without much hope. However, the GiveDirectly program has truly transformed our lives, offering new opportunities and financial stability for our family. With five children attending school and their fees overdue, I decided to clear the arrears by allocating $20. Additionally, I spent another $22 on purchasing new school uniforms for them, as the old ones were in tatters. Finally, I acquired two goats at a cost of $43. This is a plan to generate a sustainable income for my family's future, GiveDirectly has now paved way for a promising future.

I have a plan to invest in goat farming and utilize it as a source of income. By purchasing goats and allowing them to reproduce, I can exchange the offspring for cows. These cows will then serve as valuable assets for tilling my land, enhancing agricultural productivity. With careful management and a forward-thinking approach, I am confident in the potential for success in this investment. It aligns with my goals of self-sufficiency and a prosperous future.

As a devoted parent, I prioritize the education of my five children. Upon receiving my transfers, I allocated $10 for their school fees, ensuring their uninterrupted learning. I also dedicated $14 towards providing nourishing meals for my family, witnessing their happiness and satisfaction. Additionally, I invested $10 in hiring a cow to till my land, fostering self-sustainability and future prosperity. Through careful financial management, I am creating a bright and promising future for my cherished children.

My husband sells vegetables and he makes $10 per week and I also sell fish but at times I go home empty handed. Each and everyday, I make sure I do my best so that I may save enough to be able to buy more goats and also be able to feed them. I really want to have as many goats as possible so that I can easily sell them at a profit and be able to buy bulls. The bulls I will buy I can easily use them to till my land and also rent them to my neighbors who will in turn pay me some amount.

I have eight children and my husband and I were fortunate enough to be selected as beneficiaries who were eligible to receive transfers from GiveDirectly. Life is really difficult and especially when you have a larger family, meeting all their needs becomes so impossible. We sat with my husband and discussed that, my transfers will mostly be spent on buying goats and buying food for our children. The moment I received my transfers I bought goats using $20 and so far ever since we started receiving transfers from GiveDirectly we have bought three goats that are really giving us joy and happiness. I took $10 and bought food for my children so that they may have something to eat that month and the remaining amount of $4 I paid for my four children fees each $100 and I really thank God for it all.

Give Directly given is one organization that is unique in eradicating poverty through monthly funds for a longer duration of time. I am confident that in the few years most of the villagers enrolled in the program will have changed their lifestyle through investments and developing projects.

My husband was a cook in a nearby restaurant and I work sometimes as a charcoal burner just to support my husband with our daily needs. Together we have eight children and our main challenge is paying school fees, especially now that one of our children is in secondary school. When I received the funds, my husband didn’t have any money and so I spent the money on paying $5 as school fees for my eldest child and the other $5 to buy food for three days. The $20 was used to buy a goat because I have been looking for ways to invest the monthly transfers received.

It was around 3 pm while I was on my way home from fetching water when I received a confirmation message of the receipt of my first transfer. It was such a joyous moment as I knew that I had finally gotten a solution to the huge fees arrears my children owed the school. They had stayed back at home for two days and this money meant that they would be allowed back in school.

The ease of both purchasing food and paying school fees for my children is the biggest difference in my daily life. It had not been easy to sustain their needs and skipping meals was the norm. Our restaurant business has been slow of late and I have not been lucky to come across the random casual work I normally do. We are glad for the support because we would not have managed without it.

We have five children, my spouse runs a small restaurant in a nearby shopping center while I do whatever casual work that comes my way. The business that is our main source of income has not been doing well of late, especially due to the constant rise in prices of food commodities in Kenya. This posed a challenge in paying for our children's school fees and led them to an accumulation of two school term arrears amounting to KES 4000. I, therefore, paid KES 800 in school to reduce the arrears, hoping to clear it with the coming transfers. KES 400 I spent on some of the foodstuffs for my family.